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Monthly Archives: May 2011

The start of a season-long 10-game road trip Tuesday night brought with it the end of a season-best four-game winning streak as the Patriots lost 3-1 to the Bridgeport Bluefish at Harbor Yard.

The lineup, which caught fire as the Patriots put wins together at the end of their homestand, was held without an extra-base hit by Jaun Padilla (2-0) and three relievers. Jeff Nettles plated the only run in the fourth inning on one of his team’s eight singles.

Bill Pulsipher (1-1) allowed three runs on 11 hits in six innings. He struck out six but appeared to run out of gas in the sixth when Andres Perez hit a tie-breaking solo home run and Adam Greenberg added a RBI triple.

Like most of the players around him, Brian Shubsda spent his time with the Somerset Patriots anticipating a life-changing phone call.

Shubsda’s wait lasted only a small fraction of the baseball season and ended when he was offered an immediate opportunity to begin climbing the ranks — from a representative with the National Guard.

The Toms River native decided last week to give up his post as a minor-league catcher in favor of attending Officer Candidate School — an intensive eight-week training program that graduates commissioned lieutenants. He will report to Fort McClellan, Ala., on June 9.

“I’ve done personal training and I’ve played professional baseball,” Shubsda said, “but now it finally feels like this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Shubsda, 24, has felt a pull toward the military since his first day of high school.

BRIDGEWATER — Before embarking on a season-long 10-game road trip, the Somerset Patriots would be wise to clear some room in their suitcases for their suddenly hot bats.

First baseman Josh Pressley collected five hits and five RBI and the Patriots pounded out 16 hits in a 10-7 victory Sunday afternoon that completed a three-game sweep of the Road Warriors in front of 5,160 at TD Bank Ballpark.

“I’ll take anything I can get at this point,” said manager Sparky Lyle, whose team is averaging 8.8 runs per game during a season-best four-game winning streak that will be on the line Tuesday against the Bridgeport Bluefish in the first leg of a three-city trip.

BRIDGEWATER — Retiring three straight hitters with ease last week did something for Scott Williamson that a look at his World Series ring or his National League Rookie of the Year award could not.

It boosted his confidence.

Williamson’s big picture includes success at baseball’s highest level, but his struggles with the Somerset Patriots at the start of this season left him searching for some answers.

“Any time that you’re not getting outs, that’s going to be tough to swallow,” Williamson said. “But it wasn’t making me feel pressure. It made me think, “What are you doing to get yourself out of this?’ I knew it wasn’t my body, so it had to be mechanics.”

Steady side work to correct any flaws might finally be producing results for Williamson, who did not pitch Saturday night as the Patriots topped the Road Warriors 7-1 at TD Bank Ballpark. Jeff Nettles hit a two-run home run as part of a six-run rally in the fifth inning.

“It only takes one time to know what it feels like,” said Williamson, who recorded his first perfect inning of the season Wednesday. “It really felt smooth, like it all clicked.”

The Somerset Patriots now can join you at the grocery store or ride shotgun in your car on Route 78.

At least that kind of on-the-go availability is the grand vision behind the new Patriots App for iPhones, iPads and Android mobile devices, which was launched Friday afternoon prior to the team’s game against the Road Warriors at TD Bank Ballpark.

“Mobiles devices are becoming extremely mainstream,” senior vice president of marketing Dave Marek said. “Now, you have all the Somerset Patriots information you need right at your fingertips.”

After a 19-minute pregame rain delay, Kevin Reese made short work of the Road Warriors.

Reese struck out six in five scoreless innings and the Patriots exploded for six runs in the fifth inning Saturday night to beat the Road Warriors 7-1 at TD Bank Ballpark.

Matt Hagen’s RBI groundout in the fourth inning snapped a scoreless tie before the Patriots poured it on. Jeff Nettles hit a three-run home run, Hagen added a RBI single and Iggy Suarez chipped in a RBI double.

Norris Hopper, who also had a RBI in the fifth, led the Patriots with three hits.

Reese scattered four hits and one walk in his longest outing of the season.

This time, the Somerset Patriots were on the other side of bullpen struggles.

After losing an early three-run lead Friday night, the Patriots snapped a tie in decisive fashion — combining to score nine runs in the seventh and eighth inning to defeat the Road Warriors 12-4 at TD Bank Ballpark.

Jeff Nettles went 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, a home run and five RBIs.

With the score tied 3-3, Wayne Lydon, who had three hits, led off the bottom of the seventh with a single against Kyle Aselton.

Brian McCullough, who remains property of the Patriots after being reassigned to the Road Warriors out of spring training, relieved Asselton with Lydon on third base and one out.

Norris Hopper delivered the go-ahead sacrifice fly before Nettles’ two-run double broke the game open. Pressley added a RBI in the seventh, and Nettles keyed a five-run rally in the eighth with a two-run homer.

Starter Jason Cromer allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings but Ben Grezlovski picked up the win in relief.

BRIDGEWATER — Luke Sommer always said he would do whatever his team asked of him.

He proved it under extreme circumstances.

When members of the Chicago Cubs’ front office wanted to see him on a pitcher’s mound during the early part of the 2008 season, Sommer brought his outfielder’s glove into the bullpen and began pounding the strike zone.

Just like that, a new career was born.

“The Cubs told me, “We’ve got a lot of young outfielders in our system and we don’t know where you fit in, but we need lefties who throw strikes in our bullpen,’ ” Sommer remembered. “I know how hard it is to hit, so I don’t overthrow. I just let (hitters) get themselves out.”

The no-nonsense approach has worked during Sommer’s two weeks with the Somerset Patriots, who Thursday night defeated the Bridgeport Bluefish 6-3 at TD Bank Ballpark.

“An athletic pitcher can make adjustments pretty quickly,” pitching coach Brett Jodie said of Sommer, who allowed just two earned runs in his first six innings. “He looks very comfortable out there and he can throw everything for strikes.”

Bill Pulsipher figured out how to break his string of no-decisions: Get a lot of outs.

Pulsipher retired 13 straight hitters at one point and allowed just one hit in 6 2/3 innings Thursday night as the Patriots shut down the Bridgeport Bluefish, winning 6-3 at TD Bank Ballpark.

Wayne Lydon snapped a scoreless tie with a solo home run in the third inning, Jeff Nettles cleared the bases with a three-run double in the fourth and Josh Pressley added a RBI single in the fifth as the Patriots built a 5-0 lead.

The runs came in the middle of Pulsipher’s perfect stretch, which ended when he issued back-to-back walks to start the seventh. The Bluefish pushed across a run on a double steal but Travis Minix finished the seventh and worked a clean eighth.

Pulsipher, who had nothing to show for his 4.03 ERA through four starts, struck out two and walked three to improve to 1-0 and snap the team’s three-game losing streak.

Scott Williamson needed one pitch to save the win after Luke Sommer allowed two ninth-inning runs.

BRIDGEWATER – The 220-pound slugger hustled every step of the way down the first-base line and slid head-first into the bag — only to be ruled out by a matter of inches.

The final play of Wednesday afternoon’s ninth inning was symbolic of both the effort and the results accumulated by the Somerset Patriots during a confounding tailspin that includes 14 losses in the first 20 games of the season.

“That’s the way it’s been all year,” said designated hitter Josh Pressley, who grounded out with the potential tying runs in scoring position to cap a 10-8 loss to the Bridgeport Bluefish. “Everybody is playing their butt off — and it seems like we could easily be a .500 team right now — but we just keep coming up short.”

Pressley drove in four runs, including three on a home run, and Jeff Nettles added a two-run home run as the Patriots jumped out to a 6-2 third-inning lead in front of 6,658 at TD Bank Ballpark.